Cleaning-machine.



No. 885,1()7. l PATENTED APR. 21, 1908.

J. TOLSON.

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APPLLATION FILED 00T. 31, 1906.

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JOSEPH TOLSON, OF KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS.

CLEANING-MA CHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 21, 190s.

Application filed October 31, 1906. Serial No. 341,436.

T o all whom it may concern.'

Beit known that I, JOSEPH ToLsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kankakee, in the county of Kankakee and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Cleaning-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a cleaning machine or washer in which gasolene, naphtha, benzin, or other volatile liquids are used as the cleaning medium for cleansing clothes and fabrics of different character by what is known in the trade as the dry cleaning process. In cleaning and dyeing vestablishments, it is the usual custom to employ an ordinary washing machine for cleaning the fabrics, but these machines are defective and unsatisfactory for the use of gasolene or similar washing fluids.

The invention has for one of its objects to produce a dry cleaning machine or washer especially designed for using gasolene and similar volatile liquids, which is of comparatively simple and inexpensive construction, eflicient and reliable in use, easy to operate, and in which the eva oration and waste of the volatile washing iquid is reduced to a minimum. v

Another object of the invention is the provision of a washing machine in which the drum or cylinder containing the fabrics to be cleaned is housed in a` vapor tight casing and the washing liquid is heated to a suitable temperature so as to facilitate the cleaning operation.

A further object is` to provide a device adapted to be used in connection with the drum or cylinder for the fabrics to be cleaned, whereby the fabrics are drained in the machine, so that the gasolene can be collected with a minimum of Waste, as the draining can take place while the casing of the machine is kept closed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rotatable drum mounted within a stationary casing, suitable doors being provided in the casing and drum to permit of the casing being cleaned out through the openings rovided in the casing and drum, thereby o `viating the necessity of removing the drum as is commonly necessary in certain other forms of machines.

With these objects in view, and others, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction section of the clothes drum or cylinder showing the draining device therein. l

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the `frame of the machine which comprises a pair of spaced transversely extending side frames 2 having legs 3 for supporting the machine on the floor, the legs being held spaced apart by a semi-cylindrical sheet metal plate or member 4. The frames 2 are cast with semi-cylindrical flanges 5 on their opposed faces, on which the ends of the member 4 are secured by rivets 6. The portions of the side frames 2` above the casing member 4 are cast solid, so yas to form heads coperating with the member 4 to constitute a heating compartment 7. On the upper ends of the side frames 2 are bearings 8 for the journals or trunnions 9 of the drum of the machine.

`Arranged between the side frames 2 is a stationary casing or cylinder 10 that contains the drum 11. The cylindrical casing 10 extends at its bottom side into the space inclosed by the semi-cylindrical member 4 and the heads 12 formed on the side frames 2, so that the stationary casing 10 forms a top to the heating compartment 7. This compartment may be made fluid tight as by plates 101l between the heads 12 and 17, so that steam may be employed as the heating medium. When water is employed, it is not necessary to have the compartment7 fluid tight at the top.

13 designates a pipe leading into the compartment 7 through the member 4 for the purpose of supplying steam for heating the casing 10 direct, or for heating the water contained in the compartment. A drain cock 14 is provided for drawing off the contents of the heating compartment 7. One of the heads 12- is fitted with a gage 15 of usual construction for indicating the level of the water in the compartment 7 when Water is used for heating the casing 10, and, when found desirable 'the temperature in the heating comlio partment may be registered by means of a 1 perforated drain board 33 is employed, as

l thermometer 16 secured to the head 12 or in some other convenient place. At this point it may be remarked that, in practice, a temperature between one hundred and one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit for the gasolene gives the best results.

The drum 11 is rotatably mounted on the frame 1 and in the casing 10 by means of the horizontally extending journals 9. These journals comprise short shafts extending inwardly through the heads 17 of the stationary casing 10 and are rigidly connected with the plates 18 bolted on the outer faces of the heads 19 of the drum 11. The plates 18 are socketed and the ends of the journal shafts project into the sockets and are held fast by a screw bolt 20. At the points where the journalshafts 9 pass through the head 17, stuffing boxes 21 are provided, so as to prevent the leakage of gasolene vapor from the casing 10. be made of wood, or any other suitable material, and supported on the head is the cylinder 22 of sheet metal, or other material, constituting the body of the drum. On the interior of the body of the drum are longitudinally extending strips or bars 23 which serve to reinforce the cylindrical body 22 and also act as agitators for the clothes or other fabrics being washed in the machine.

The top of the casing 10 is provided with an opening 24 through which the clothes to be washed are put into the machine and by which they are removed when they are clean. This opening is of substantial dimensions and is closed by a cover 26 having the hand-holes 26. The cover 25 is adapted to close tight so that the gasolene vapor will be prevented from escaping. Any suitable packing or seal may be employed for this purpose, as, for instance, a frame 27 arranged around the opening 24. This frame has an outward iiare so as to receive the inwardly tapering flange 28 on the cover 25. Between the flange 28 and the said frame is a packing material such as a strip of cork rubber, or the like, 29. The cylindrical portion 22 of the drum 11 is provided with an opening 30 through which the clothes and fabric are passed in lilling or emptying the drum. This opening is provided with a hinged closure 31, the hinges 32 of which are of such a construction as to permit the closure to be removed for the purpose as will hereinafter appear. The closure or cover 31 is of such proportion as to permit it to be readily removed through the opening of the easing 10. After the clothes have been thoroughly cleaned in the machine, they are permitted to drain in the drum, so that they will be comparatively dry when removed, thus preventing the waste of the gasolene which would follow if the clothes were removed while wet.

To facilitate the draining of the clothes, a

The heads 19 of the drum mayshown in Fig. 3. To place the drain board in the drum, the cover 25 of the casing 10 is iirst removed and then the closure 31 of the drum taken out. The drain board 33 is then inserted and placed on top of the clothes, it being understood that to remove the closure 31, the drum is turned so that the closure will be uppermost. -After the drain board is placed on the clothes, the drum is turned through half of a revolution, so that the said board will be at the bottoni of the drum, as shown in Fig. 3, with the clothes resting on the top thereof. The drain board rests on two of the longitudinal bars 23 and supports the clothes above the level of the gasolene which has been permitted to pass into the casing 1() through the opening of the drum when it is inverted. To remove the clothes after they have drained, the drum is preferably provided with an opening 34 diametrically opposite from the o )ening 30, which o ening is adapted to be closed. by a door or clposure 35 hinged to the drum in suoli a way as to be removed, when desired, This door is opened and the drained clothes moved. Another advantage o'f having the two diametrically opposite openings 30 and 34 in the drum is that the operator can reach through the top opening in the easing 10 and the openings in the drum and wipe out the sediment and dirt from the bottom of the casing 10, without having to remove the drum from the casing and frame 1. To drain oil' the gasolene from the casing 10, a drain pipe 36 is provided which extends from the bottom of the casing and through the member 4 and at the outer end has a drain cock 37. The closures 31 and 35 for the openings of the drum are constructed to have a tight iit in the opening so that the drum will retain `the gasolene during the cleaning operation, and buttons 38 are provided on the drum to hold the closures in place.

From the 'foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, In operation, the articles to be washed are placed in the drum 11 and the necessary quantity of gasolene poured in upon the clothes. The drum is then closed, as is also the casing 11. A suitable heating medium is then supplied to the heating compartment 7, so that the gasolene can be brought to the proper temperature. The drum 11 with the gasolene and clothes therein is rotated' by a suitable power mechanism, not shown, that drives the gear 39 keyed to one of the shafts 9. Tf desired, the drum can be rotated by hand, the crank 4() on the gear 39 being provided for this )urpose. After the drum has been rotated for a sufficient period of time to thoroughly clean the articles therein, the drain board is placed in the drum in the manner heretofore eX- lained, and the clothes then permitted to rain. When they have finished draining, they are removed and the gasolene drawn off from the casing 10 and then the latter is Wi ed out clean.

have described the princi le of operation of the invention, together Wit the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that various changes may be made, when desired, as are Within the sco e of the invention.

What is claimed is In an apparatus of the class described, the combinatlon of spaced side frames each side frame having a semi-circular fiange on its inner face, a curved plate extending between said side frames and fastenedi fluid tight to said flanges, a non-rotatable cylindrical casing arranged between the side frames and spaced therefrom and from the curved plate except at the ends of the latter which are inturned and contact with said casing, and flat plates between the casing heads and the side frames, the several parts formin a closed heating com lartment around the oWer part of the cylin rical casing, means for continuously supplying a heating medium to said compartment, means for raining the same, and other means for draining the cylindrical casing.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

JOSEPH TOLSON.

Witnesses:

FRANK O. SCHNEIDER, WM. J. CoGHLAN. 

